Health care is at the center of the government shutdown
The federal government shutdown continues as Democrats and Republicans clash over health care policy and tax credits, with no votes scheduled due to Yom Kippur.
The federal government shutdown continues as Democrats and Republicans clash over health care policy and tax credits, with no votes scheduled due to Yom Kippur.
The federal government shutdown continues as Democrats and Republicans clash over health care policy and tax credits, with no votes scheduled due to Yom Kippur.
The federal government shutdown persists on Capitol Hill as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over health care policy, with the Senate in session but due to Yom Kippur.
Yesterday, senators rejected both and funding proposals, with Independent of Maine joining Democrats of Pennsylvania and of Nevada in supporting the GOP bill.
Republicans are attempting to sway five more Democrats to break the and reopen the government with a simple majority vote, though it remains unclear if any other negotiations are underway.
Democrats are holding out for Republican concessions on health care policy, particularly concerning Biden-era tax credits that make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. These enhanced subsidies, which benefit low and middle-income individuals , are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to extend them.
A , an independent organization focusing on health policy, indicates that health care costs could more than double for subsidized enrollees next year. KFF predicts that someone earning $28,000 annually currently pays no more than 1% or $325 of their income for premiums. If the enhanced tax credits expire, that person would pay nearly 6% of their income or more than $1,500 annually.
Republicans argue that health care negotiations can occur at a later date, while Democrats insist on addressing the issue now.
, "What happens on Friday night when the family sits around the kitchen table and says: How are we going to pay the bills when they see that their insurance could be a thousand dollars more per month? Health insurance!"
countered, "The Chuck Schumer-AOC wing of the Democratic Party shut down the government because they said to us, we will open the government but only if you give billions of dollars of funding for health care for illegal aliens. That's a ridiculous proposition."
that Democrats have proposed restoring health care for "lawfully present immigrants," not for immigrants living in the country illegally, who are prohibited by law from receiving federally funded coverage.
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